This invention relates generally to motion picture editing systems and, more particularly, to editing devices for use with systems which utilize separate film units having a plurality of film images thereon as opposed to systems which utilize continuous reels of film.
Present day motion picture taking and projection systems utilize continuous reels of film in which a plurality of sequentially produced images are vertically positioned along a continuous film roll during the picture taking process, reels of 50 feet, 100 feet, 500 feet, 1,000 feet, etc. being utilized to store such rolls of film images. During projection onto a screen, each of the sequentially filmed image transparencies on a film roll are vertically and intermittently moved past a suitable light and optical system so as to be intermittently projected onto a screen via an appropriate projection lens system at a rate which provides to the viewer a substantially continuous motion of the projected images on the screen.
A problem in such conventional motion picture systems lies in the difficulty in evaluating a scene which has been taken until the entire film roll has been utilized and developed for projection. Even where substantially instantaneous development can be achieved, such evaluation must often await the projection of a significant portion of a film roll containing a large number of different scenes before a particular scene can be looked at for such evaluation.
It is desirable, therefore, to design a motion picture taking system in which scenes of average length (e.g., the time of an average scene is often about 10-15 seconds) can be more easily evaluated without having to review other scenes of no particular interest at the time. Such a design also makes it possible to view such relatively short scenes substantially immediately after taking, either in transparency form or in projected form.
An approach to the design of a system utilizing a plurality of separate film transparency units, each of which has multiple images thereon, is described in the commonly assigned application of Philip R. Norris filed concurrently herewith as application Ser. No. 47,141, entitled "Card Motion Picture Projection System" which is incorporated herein by reference.
As disclosed in the system of such application, a preferred embodiment of the film units used therein has a plurality of arcuate, or crescent-shaped, rows of images thereon. In the particular projection system described therein, each film unit is rapidly advanced from a stack thereof to a position wherein suitable intermittent movement of the film unit permits a sequential projection of the images thereon to be made.
In some instances, it may be desirable to edit the film unit, as discussed in the above-referenced copending application describing such projection system, in order to select only certain rows of images for projection and to eliminate from the projection process the remaining rows thereof. Such editing can be accomplished in the projection system described by changing the light reflecting characteristics of one or more portions of a side edge of a film unit which is to be edited so that projection only of selected rows of images occurs. It is desirable to be able to edit such film units rapidly and accurately with minimal difficulty for such purpose.